F2 Qatar Feature Race: Martins Wins in Lusail as Fornaroli Clinches the 2025 Title

Victor Martins won the Lusail Feature Race from the front, but the afternoon belonged to Leonardo Fornaroli. As the F2 Qatar GP 2025 Feature Race Report settles, the Italian stands as the new champion after a measured run to second place that closed the season on his terms. Martins took the lead into Turn 1. Fornaroli finished the job.

Martins controlled the tempo. The margins moved, the strategies split, and the Safety Car wiped the board clean, but the Frenchman had the pace every time he needed it. Fornaroli kept him honest and secured the championship with a measured run to P2. Dunne fought through a penalty and a late push to protect his podium on corrected time.

Start and early battles

The launch told the whole story. Martins hooked it up from P2, took the inside into Turn 1, and forced Fornaroli to settle for the chase. Behind them, Dunne picked off Goethe into the opening corners and went after Roman Staněk for third.

A wide moment at the final corner brought Goethe and Nikola Tsolov back onto Dunne’s rear wing, but the Rodin driver held track position. Martins was already stretching clear. By Lap 3 he had built a 1.7 second buffer, helped by Fornaroli’s early complaints about the Soft tyre.

Sebastián Montoya climbed to sixth with a clean DRS move into Turn 1. Dunne completed his move on Staněk for third as Invicta’s early Soft-phase struggles became obvious.

Mid-race strategy

The pit window opened on Lap 6. Fornaroli blinked first and came in for Hards, joined by Dunne, Montoya, Verschoor and Dürksen. Martins extended by one lap, then boxed for his own stop. It was slow, but still enough to rejoin ahead of Fornaroli and Dunne in the net order.

Out front, Dino Beganovic led the alternative strategy group on worn Hards and pushed the gap to 7 seconds over Arvid Lindblad. The real picture sat behind him. Fornaroli had trimmed the margin to Martins and Dunne was close enough to apply pressure.

Richard Verschoor worked the race back towards him. He cleared Villagómez and then Staněk on his Hard tyres to put himself on the edge of the top ten once the strategies met.

Safety Car resets the field

Lap 15 changed everything. Oliver Goethe stopped on track. The Safety Car came out. Dunne and Tsolov were hit with five second penalties for an unsafe release, adding another twist to the podium fight.

Lindblad, Maini and Shields boxed for Softs, setting up a 16 lap sprint to the end on the grippier compound.

The restart on Lap 17 allowed Beganovic to show his raw pace. He pushed clear of Browning and held the net leaders behind him as Martins struggled to clear Laurens van Hoepen. Fornaroli closed the gap again. Lindblad’s Softs cut into the advantage ahead, but the tyre life started falling away around Lap 25.

Final laps decide the podium

Once Beganovic boxed for Softs with five laps left, the race came back to Martins and Fornaroli. The gap hovered at a second. Dunne, sitting behind them on the road, tried to build the five seconds he needed to protect third from Lindblad.

Martins had the measure of it. He stabilised the rhythm, protected the rears and kept Fornaroli just out of range. The ART driver crossed the line 1.1 seconds clear to take the win. Fornaroli followed him home to claim the championship. Dunne’s drive and pace kept his podium after time was added.

Behind them, Lindblad took fourth, Montoya fifth and Verschoor sixth. Tsolov, Staněk and a late-charging Beganovic rounded out the top ten with Browning.

Post-race penalties

Five second penalties applied during the race:

• Alexander Dunne. Unsafe release.
• Nikola Tsolov. Unsafe release.

No further penalties applied post-race.

Top 10 results

1. Victor Martins
2. Leonardo Fornaroli
3. Alexander Dunne
4. Arvid Lindblad
5. Sebastián Montoya
6. Richard Verschoor
7. Nikola Tsolov
8. Roman Staněk
9. Dino Beganovic
10. Luke Browning

Fastest Lap
Dino Beganovic, 1:38.516 (Lap 29)

Championship standings

Drivers’ top 5

1. Leonardo Fornaroli – 211
2. Jak Crawford – 170
3. Richard Verschoor – 170
4. Luke Browning – 162
5. Alexander Dunne – 149

Teams’ top 5

1. Invicta Racing – 296
2. Hitech TGR – 261
3. Campos Racing – 239
4. DAMS Lucas Oil – 196
5. MP Motorsport – 193

Next stop: Abu Dhabi

The season now heads to Yas Marina for the finale. The Drivers’ title is settled, but the Teams’ Championship remains wide open. Invicta lead, but Hitech and Campos are still in the fight. One weekend left. One more chance to shape the story.

Coffee Corner Take – F2 Qatar GP 2025 Feature Race Report

This was the day Leonardo Fornaroli finished what he started back in March. No noise. No panic. Just the same steady rhythm that has defined his whole campaign. He didn’t win the race. He didn’t need to. Second place under pressure was enough to close the book on a season built on discipline rather than raw dominance.

Last year’s F3 champion is now the new Formula 2 champion. It is one of the hardest back-to-back climbs in the sport and he made it look controlled from start to finish. Italy has a new hero. A driver who won this title by outlasting weekends that unravelled for others. A champion shaped by consistency when the field around him surged and stumbled.

Martins deserved his victory. Dunne earned a podium that cost him five seconds but not the result. Lindblad turned the Soft-tyre gamble into one of his sharpest Feature Race drives of the year. Verschoor once again found points in a race that wanted to shake him off.

But the story belongs to Fornaroli. Browning had pace. Crawford had laps led. Verschoor had momentum. None of them carried the season with the same metronomic clarity. Lusail didn’t give him the title. It confirmed what had been coming for weeks.

The Drivers’ Championship is sealed. The Teams’ fight rolls into Abu Dhabi with real stakes. One more weekend to settle the final picture. One new champion already written into it.